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This is the best fight "for business", but to be honest, Grant has shredded his way through a real murderers row lately, that I'm sad that he's out of this. Five straight LW wins with two ridiculously great finishes over killers in Gray and Wiman, compared to the three straight from Pettis, who I don't think has had nearly the impressive run, despite doing some serious highlight reel shit.

Personally, I think Pettis is an arrogant punk. IMO, he threw away his own title shot the old fashioned way, by shitting the bed by getting decisioned by Guida in his UFC. Since then, he's cut to the front of the line at FW despite not even being in that division and then acted all cunty when he dropped out due to injury and acted as though he should just automatically get pencilled into the Bendo/Grant fight. On top of that, I've always been tentative to invest too much in Pettis until he can sustain a solid run without injury, as he's dropped out of several bouts since he joined the UFC.

That really sucks for T.J. Grant. Not a fan of Pettis and I look forward to seeing Benson send him to the back of the line. Henderson has grown a lot since that first fight and I think it'll be a different result this time.

That really sucks for T.J. Grant. Not a fan of Pettis and I look forward to seeing Benson send him to the back of the line. Henderson has grown a lot since that first fight and I think it'll be a different result this time.

That really sucks for T.J. Grant. Not a fan of Pettis and I look forward to seeing Benson send him to the back of the line. Henderson has grown a lot since that first fight and I think it'll be a different result this time.

Yeah, edges out decisions Henderson is going to send Pettis to the back of the line...that's a good one. Pettis finishes him to become the New UFC Lightweight Champion

I find it funny that people say Henderson has grown as a fighter since his loss to Pettis (by squeaking out decisions in 3 of his last 4 fights) - but say the opposite about Pettis growing as a fighter because of his loss to Guida...

I find it funny that people say Henderson has grown as a fighter since his loss to Pettis (by squeaking out decisions in 3 of his last 4 fights) - but say the opposite about Pettis growing as a fighter because of his loss to Guida...

Growth isn't necessarily about wins, it's about what the fighters do inside the cage. Pettis lost to Guida and had a very lackluster win over Stephens. The Lauzon and Cerrone finishes were good, but they weren't new tools in his toolbox and they weren't against anyone in the top 5.

Benson, meanwhile, edged out decisions over Edgar and Gil; very clearly beat Diaz.

Benson has shown an improved ability to gameplan, stick to the gameplan, and mix his attacks. So I would say he's clearly grown more as a fighter. The flipside is that I think he's also learned to coast in later rounds if he thinks he's up. Between that and the fact that he goes straight back when hit, this is still a very close fight.

Yeah, edges out decisions Henderson is going to send Pettis to the back of the line...that's a good one. Pettis finishes him to become the New UFC Lightweight Champion

I find it funny that people say Henderson has grown as a fighter since his loss to Pettis (by squeaking out decisions in 3 of his last 4 fights) - but say the opposite about Pettis growing as a fighter because of his loss to Guida...

The quality of Benson's opposition in those fights has been alot higher... can't fault Bendo for facing tough opposition. The level of opposition that Bendo has faced recently alone seperates him from Pettis wins against Edgar, Melendez, Diaz and Miller even if they were close fights in some cases trump wins over Cerrone and Lauzon. Bendo rolled through a lot of tough guys in his first few fights in the UFC where as Pettis struggled. Pettis has had to back out on alot of fights due to injuries so Bendo has been alot more active in that time. Lastly If you compare the one opponent they both fight since joining the UFC (Guida) obviously Pettis looks inferior here.

I don't think Bendo will roll through Pettis but I do think he will win another close fight.

Yeah, edges out decisions Henderson is going to send Pettis to the back of the line...that's a good one. Pettis finishes him to become the New UFC Lightweight Champion

I find it funny that people say Henderson has grown as a fighter since his loss to Pettis (by squeaking out decisions in 3 of his last 4 fights) - but say the opposite about Pettis growing as a fighter because of his loss to Guida...

Since they last fought:
Pettis- UD Loss to Guida, SD Win over Stephens & 2 TKO wins over Cerrone & Lauzon....so basically one win over a top ten LW during that span and let's not forget that's only 4 fights in two years, not that much to write home about.

Meanwhile Bendo has UD'd Bocek, Miller, Frankie, Nate and Guida(who beat Pettis btw) and SD'd Gil and Frankie, all but one of those guys(Bocek) were top ten, most being top five when he faced them and you could make the case that Bocek was in the top five, and lets not forget that four of the above mentioned Bendo fights went five rounds.

Benson has put his skillet into overdrive since the first fight, there's been genuine development and growth there, otherwise he wouldn't be hanging with top ten LWs, let alone winning and it is hard as hell to finish guys at a top tier level. Driving through fighters like Miller and Diaz is impressive as hell and you're severely undercutting the caliber of who Bendo has fought in comparison. Pettis' TDD was the reason he lost the Guida bout and Bendo's grappling has gotten suffocatingly excellent since the WEC loss, that improvement and increased composure and maturity are going to change the complexion of the rematch IMO.

Also, there's a massive difference between edging or squeaking out decisions over Frankie and Gil to edging or squeaking out a decision over a periphery 20 LW like Stephens. Your argument fails there big time.

So what happens with Josh Thomson now that Pettis gets a shot at the title? I remember there being talk about him and Pettis potentially fighting at some point.

Maybe Thomson fights Jim Miller? I think that would be good.

Either way, I certainly believe TJ Grant should get the winner of Bendo/Pettis.

Thomson is probably ahead of Miller at this point in the rankings and likely considered a potential contender down the road. It's likely he'd get matched up with a top contender for a title eliminator at this point